Graduates in diversity
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EAGER new Tasmania Police recruits vary from those straight out of college to constables with overseas police experience.
Constable Nicole Brown said her lifelong ambition to join the force grew when she attended a career development program last year during her final year at college.
The Ulverstone local said her 31 weeks of training were “jam packed”. “Every single day at the academy was different, whether it was in the classroom or having university lectures or in the gym learning defensive tactics,” Ms Brown said.
She said she was looking forward to taking up her post at Devonport.
Constable Jim Hatton, who previously worked as a police officer in London for 15 years, recently moved to Tasmania with his wife.
He said he was excited to move on from the “busy metropolis” of London to take on his new role at Bridgewater. “[Moving to] more of a suburban and rural setting is a unique opportunity for me,” he said.
The day had some 22 recruits graduate as constables and holders of a UTAS Associate Degree of Arts majoring in Police Studies.
Commander Robert Blackwood said Tasmania Police benefited from bringing in recruits from diverse backgrounds.
He said COVID-19 altered usual training procedures, with some preparing for early frontline deployment and assisting operations on the COVID hotline.
New graduate Jorge Aragon Amaya said spending 12 months working from the police radio room also prepared him for his new post in Launceston.
Eleven men and 11 women will operate from Hobart, Bridgewater, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport from next week.
The graduation follows the Tasmanian government’s initiative to bring in 125 extra front line officers over four years.